Dave Smith Instruments Evolver, Operation Manual, Page: 18 / 64

18
Sequencer Operation
Evolver has a 4 x 16 “analog” style step sequencer. Imagine four rows of 16 knobs. It
is really a single sequencer with four controls per step, though the convention in
Evolver is to call the four rows sequence 1 through 4.
When you hit the S
TART
button, the sequence will start playing. The column LEDs will
light in sequence to show which step is playing; remember that each sequence is two
rows, so the LEDs repeat.
Each of the four sequences is basically a modulation source; it can be routed to any
of the normal modulation destinations (see table on page 38) using the Seq Dest
knobs (last row). Usually at least one of the sequences is routed to an oscillator to
control pitch. Using VCA Envelope as a destination allows setting the volume of each
step; likewise you can go to the Filter or Filter Envelope Amount to have different filter
settings per step.
Beyond this, you can really have some fun with other destinations; go to Delay
amount to have the delay level change; or feedback amount, to drastically change the
sound every step. FM and Ring Mod are fun to change – you get the idea. With four
sequences, you can program a very dynamic sequence.
Note – another very useful way to modulate a sequence is using LFOs with sync;
LFO frequency runs 0 – 150, after which you can select the sync settings. A
setting of
S16 on an LFO with a Triangle wave selected and routed to the filter will
provide a clean filter sweep over a 16 step sequence, perfectly in sync! This is
much easier (and smoother) than programming a filter sweep using sequence
steps.
The sequencer can also be routed to MIDI output destinations, including Note
Number, Velocity, Mod Wheel, Pressure, Breath, and Foot Controller. Velocity is a
special case – it only works if selected as the destination for Sequence 2 when
Sequence 1’s destination routed to Note Number. The same for Sequence 3 and 4
(Sequence 4 can be velocity for Sequence 3). If velocity is not used as a destination,
the velocity output is 120. So, it is possible to have up to 4 note sequences sent out
over MIDI.
Another sequencer destination is Clock Mod. It works via a multiplier based on a step
value of 40. If a sequencer step is set to 40, the clock speed stays as set. If set to 20,
(half of 40), the clock will be twice as fast for that step. Likewise, a step value of 80
will be twice as slow as normal, and 10 would be 4 times faster.
Note that overall limits of 30 to 250 BPM still apply; for example, if you have a BPM of
120, and a sequencer step of 10, it will try to go four times faster than 120, which is
480. Since it is greater than 250, it will clamp at 250. With clever choices of BPM
(using Clock Divide as necessary) you can develop a pretty wide range of timing
possibilities. Also, with sequences of different lengths, it can really get quite wild.
The actual MIDI note transmitted is the sequence step value plus one (since MIDI
note on of zero = note off). Note that this is different than the half-semitone when
driving the internal oscillators – this was done to provide a wider range of notes. Also,
the main Transpose is added/subtracted to the MIDI note output. Velocity and the
other controllers are converted from 0 – 100 range to 0 – 127 range for MIDI.